FEATURED COMPANIES

AbstractOur ratings for Washington Post Co. remain on CreditWatch with negative implications, despite finalized Department of Education (DoE) regulations that are somewhat less onerous than initially proposed. Deteriorating operating performance at Washington Post Co.'s Kaplan higher education division is negatively affecting revenue and EBITDA. We remain concerned that weaker education segment operating performance trends will continue over the near-to-intermediate term, prompting a reassessment of the company's business fundamentals and earnings potential. On June 16, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that its 'A' long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured ratings, as well as its 'A-1' short-term commercial paper rating, for Washington Post Co. remain on CreditWatch, where it was placed on May 19, 2011, with negative implications. Washington, D.C.-based...

Standard and Poors RatingsXpress Credit Research provides in-depth coverage of international corporates, financial institutions, insurance companies, utilities, sovereigns and structured finance programs.
RatingsXpress Credit Research lets users determine the credit rating of holdings and identify key factors underlying an issuer's creditworthiness, distinguishes the different risk exposures for new and existing deals, and provides an understanding of how their analysts interpret key regulatory, political and environmental events and their economic impact.

Product Type: Research UpdateResearch updates complement media releases. They offer more depth and detail than summary analyses by incorporating all information published in the media release. They are more up to date than summaries in that they are published simultaneously with media releases.